Metal Mouth Message Board

has anyone bought the invisalign brand cleaner? is it worth the cost? link below. i hate the plaque that sometimes gets on my aligners even though i brush them

http://www.invisalignstore.com/

i haven't used the cleaner- back in the day when I had braces (20 years ago) I used denture cleaner (like a fizzy thing you drop in water) to clean my retainers- I am wondering if the same thing works for invisilign- as they are much more reasonable and would like to try them- anyone tried these?

Yes, the denture cleaner stuff does work - I use efferdent on mine and have never had any problems.

I've used denture cleaner for a year and it works fine. I use Steradent with no problems and nice clean braces!

At www.DentaKit.com we sell several types of cleaners that are a lot less expensive than the one that Invisalign makes. They all work very well.

So far, I've been ok using a tooth brush to clean my aligners when on a two week cycle. I did cut most of the bristles of a toothbrush so the remaining ones would reach the deep parts of the tray.

Last summer, I had to wear a set of trays for 8 weeks waiting for a mid-course correction and found that brushing alone wasn't enough. I tried soaking them in Efferdent about once a week to keep build-ups down, but this wasn't totally effective.

I now have to wear my top tray for 21 weeks while final corrections are made to my lowers. I'm trying to do some additional cleaning with a toothpick to loosen buildup not removed with my modified tooth brush. I'm not sure how this is going to work for such an extended period. I also travel a lot so portability is important.

SonicBrite gets the buildup off very well. Effervescing tablets don't get off build-up; they are not strong enough. SonicBrite is very strong. Alternatively, the DentaSoak products will clear off the build-up after several uses and it contains no persulfates. Retainer Brite and similar effervescing tablets are good for daily use, but will not remove white build-up that is already on your aligners.

For traveling, the Cleanse Freshen Go products (especially the wipes) help keep the aligners clean very easily. I would highly recommend them for long airplane trips or travel situations where you can't soak or brush your aligners.

They're all available at www.DentaKit.com, and there's a comparison chart you can use to help you evaluate the pros and cons of all the retainer/aligner cleaning products.

I did some more reviewing on this subject since I do have an unusual circumstance (21 weeks with the same upper aligner - 3 down, 18 to go).

1) A toothbrush with regular toothpaste will cause aligners to look cloudy instead of clear because toothpaste contains abrasives. This isn't too much of a problem for a two week wear cycle as there isn't that much damage in a short time. However, if extended wear of a tray is required, they can become very dull looking in several weeks. I experienced this last summer when I had to wear a set of trays for 8 weeks. They got really bad by the time I finally got my mid-course correction.

2) Efferdent is aimed at dentures and regular Hawley retainers. It is not a good product for clear aligners, particularly long term. Once reference I reviewed mentioned Efferdent could damage plastic aligners over long term use.

My orthodontist wasn't happy with the shape of my upper aligner during a visit this week. My frequent travels among other things make keeping everything clean a real problem. He also noted that my retainer would be a similar appliance and that I would really need to work on keeping them clean. (I wish he had said something about night wear only for the retainer - he didn't!).

At this point, I'm looking at SonicBrite as a first step. My big problem is the amount of traveling I do, which makes it hard to clean appliances during restaurant meals.

I've used

1: ultrasonic cleaner: not very effective without proper solution, with proper solution, it was a bit better
2: denture tablets: m'eh, worked okay, not great
3: professional grade spin brush: amazing, removes all stains even curry, red wine, and coffee

My regular routine for aligners that I've been wearing nightly for several months (to retain my alignment) is to rinse them off in the morning and give it a quick brush with a sonic toothbrush. I have to admit that I'm not all that thorough with the brushing of it.

Therefore, there is still some build-up, and every week or two, I'll give it 10 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner with water only to loosen up any of the build-up. I then take the ultrasonic brush and use it to remove the film left behind. I think the type of electronic tooth brush will make a difference. You'll want one with sonic action rather than a simple rotary one.

I've used the retainer-brite tablets but found that the above steps work well enough for me. Interesting to hear everyone's routines :).

Invisalign Cleaner crystals do work well but are pretty expensive. I only used them once per set of liners, generally after week 1 during a two-week wear time. Since I'm in my enhancement phase and am running low on cleaner packets, I've been using generic dental prosthesis effervescent tabs and they work great; they're cheaper and I'm therefore able to use them every other day. Any residue, such that there is, comes off.

Some are talking about toothpaste making liners cloudy due to its abrasiveness.....I've never seen that in my case, and I brush my liners three times a day. While waiting for my enhancement liners to come in, I wore the same liners for almost 6 weeks and saw no build-up or cloudiness due to denture tablets, toothpaste, etc....FWIW...

PS: I think wearing Invisalign is a lot like having kids...for example with your first born you worry about every little thing and try to do it all by the book....then as you become a parent to another child and perhaps even more children, you find yourself willing to improvise within certain guidelines....Translation? Invisalign gets easier with time, and once you train yourself to be a compliant patient, it's all downhill.....Essentially if you're on liner 10, say, and all is proceeding swimmingly, don't "schvitz" it, you're on your way....[/b]

After doing some web browsing on various products, I found in user responses most patients were happy with their SonicBrite cleaner. The only negative report I saw was someone not liking the stronger cleaner solution.

I bought one and have tried it out. Overall, it works very well although I have found using a child's tooth brush for a final touch-up (no tooth paste!!) does a terrific job of removing anything remaining since it is already loosened. This type of toothbrush has softer bristles and a smaller head making it easy to clean deep inside the tray as well as attachment bubbles. With this two step method, my aligners look almost new, including the upper one I have now worn several weeks. The SonicBrite cleaner is much stronger then Efferdent and similar products. I'm careful not to soak anything very long. The device cuts itself off after 20 minutes and I general do my cleaining while I'm drinking my morning coffee.

To see how well this worked on aligners that were really dirty, I took an old set that I had worn for two weeks that had thoroughly dried and looked very cloudy as well as had deposits. These I had cleaned with toothpaste and toothbrush. I had to run them through the SonicBrite solution and child's toothbrush twice, but they looked much better afterwards. This is what I plan to stay with except when traveling where I'll use regular denture cleaners. I have to wear my upper aligner full time until at least the first week of April.